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Purpose: Providing accessible and inclusive environments fulfils legislative obligations and creates financial benefits. Historic listed buildings rely on heritage tourism for continued financial support. This research aims to investigate how historic listed buildings adapt to afford access to People with Disabilities (PwD), through physical and non-physical interventions. Design/methodology/approach: Using a case-study approach of an historic property, research comprises of: an observational visitor survey, determining visitor demographic regarding visible disabilities; an access audit, determining current accessibility; interviews with the property's Access Team and desktop-based research. Findings: Results depict the complexity, challenges and barriers in making historic buildings accessible for PwD. Through alternative training and inclusive initiatives, findings reveal how historic buildings may support the multiplicity of individuals' access requirements. Research limitations/implications: Further research incorporating longer surveying periods, wider demographic of interviewees and multiple case study analysis would provide richer, comparable data in understanding the intrinsic complexities involved in creating accessibility within historic buildings. Implications of this research could transcend management, conservation and adaptation of listed buildings in identifying the defined barriers and solutions to overcome them. Originality/value: The originality of this paper relates to the use of alternative services creating access when physical changes are deemed 'unreasonable'. A conceptual framework is developed depicting the complexity, challenges and barriers in making historic buildings accessible for PwD.

Flood resilient construction has become an essential component of the integrated approach to flood risk management, now widely accepted through the concepts of making space for water and living with floods. Resilient construction has been in place for centuries, but only fairly recently has it been recognized as part of this wider strategy to manage flood risk. Buildings and the wider built environment are known to play a key role in flood risk management, and when buildings are constructed on or near to flood plains there is an obvious need to protect these. Engineered flood defense systems date back centuries, with early examples seen in China and Egypt. Levees were first built in the United States some 150 years ago, and were followed by the development of flood control acts and regulations. In 1945, Gilbert Fowler White, the so-called "father of floodplain management," published his influential thesis which criticized the reliance on engineered flood defenses and began to change these approaches. In Europe, a shortage of farmable land led to the use of land reclamation schemes and the ensuing Land Drainage acts before massive flood events in the mid-20th century led to a shift in thinking towards the engineered defense schemes such as the Thames Barrier and Dutch dyke systems. The early 21st century witnessed the emergence of the "living with water" philosophy, which has resulted in the renewed understanding of flood resilience at a property level. The scientific study of construction methods and building technologies that are robust to flooding is a fairly recent phenomenon. There are a number of underlying reasons for this, but the change in flood risk philosophy coupled with the experience of flood events and the long process of recovery is helping to drive research and investment in this area. This has led to a more sophisticated understanding of the approaches to avoiding damage at an individual property level, categorized under three strategies, namely avoidance technology, water exclusion technology, and water entry technology. As interest and policy has shifted to water entry approaches, alongside this has been the development of research into flood resilient materials and repair and reinstatement processes, the latter gaining much attention in the recognition that experience will prompt resilient responses and that the point of reinstatement provides a good opportunity to install resilient measures. State-of-the-art practices now center on avoidance strategies incorporating planning legislation in many regions to prohibit or restrict new development in flood plains. Where development pressures mean that new buildings are permitted, there is now a body of knowledge around the impact of flooding on buildings and flood resilient construction and techniques. However, due to the variety and complexity of architecture and construction styles and varying flood risk exposure, there remain many gaps in our understanding, leading to the use of trial and error and other pragmatic approaches. Some examples of avoidance strategies include the use of earthworks, floating houses, and raised construction. The concept of property level flood resilience is an emerging concept in the United Kingdom and recognizes that in some cases a hybrid approach might be favored in which the amount of water entering a property is limited, together with the likely damage that is caused. The technology and understanding is moving forward with a greater appreciation of the benefits from combining strategies and property level measures, incorporating water resistant and resilient materials. The process of resilient repair and considerate reinstatement is another emerging feature, recognizing that there will be a need to dry, clean, and repair flood-affected buildings. The importance of effective and timely drying of properties, including the need to use materials that dry rapidly and are easy to decontaminate, has become more apparent and is gaining attention. Future developments are likely to concentrate on promoting the uptake of flood resilient materials and technologies both in the construction of new and in the retrofit and adaptation of existing properties. Further development of flood resilience technology that enhances the aesthetic appeal of adapted property would support the uptake of measures. Developments that reduce cost or that offer other aesthetic or functional advantages may also reduce the barriers to uptake. A greater understanding of performance standards for resilient materials will help provide confidence in such measures and support uptake, while further research around the breathability of materials and concerns around mold and the need to avoid creating moisture issues inside properties represent some of the key areas.

Purpose: Adequate reliable property market data is critical to the production of professional and ethical valuations as well as better real estate transaction decision-making. However, the availability of reliable property market information represents a major barrier to improving valuation practices in Ghana and it is regarded as a key challenge. This study investigates the sources and reliability of property market information for valuation practice in Ghana. The aim is to provide input into initiatives to address the availability of reliable property market data challenges. Design/Methodology/Approach – A mixed methods research approach is used. The study, thus, relies on a combination of a systematic identification and review of literature, a stakeholder workshop and a questionnaire survey of real estate valuers in Accra, Ghana's capital city to obtain requisite data to address the aim. Findings – The study identifies seven (7) property market data sources used by valuers to obtain market data for valuation practice. These are: valuers own database; public institutions; professional colleagues; property owners; estate developers; estate agents; and the media. However, access to property market information for valuations is a challenge although valuers would like to use reliable market data for their valuations. This is due to incomplete and scattered nature of data often borne out of administrative lapses; nondisclosure of details of property transactions due to confidentiality arrangements and the quest to evade taxes; data integrity concerns; and lack of requisite training and experience especially for estate agents to collect and manage market data. Although professional colleagues is the most used market data source, valuers own databases, was regarded as the most reliable source compared to the media, which was considered as the least reliable source. Research Implications – Findings from the study imply a need for the development of a systematic approach to property market data collection and management. This will require practitioners to demonstrate care, consciousness and a set of data collection skills suggesting a need for valuers and estate agents to undergo regular relevant training to develop and enhance their knowledge, skills and capabilities. The establishment of a property market databank to help in the provision of reliable market data along with a suitable market data collection template to ensure effective and efficient data collection are considered essential steps. Originality – The study makes a significant contribution to the extant knowledge by providing empirical evidence on the frequency of use and the reliability of the various sources of market data. It also provides useful insights for regulators such as the Ghana Institution of Surveyors (GhIS), the RICS and other stakeholders such as the Commonwealth Association of Surveying and Land Economy (CASLE) and the Government to improve the provision of reliable property market information towards developing valuation practice not only in Ghana, but across the Sub-Saharan Africa Region. Also, based on these findings, the study proposes a new property market data collection template and guidelines towards improving the collection of effective property market data. Upon refinement, these could aid valuation practitioners to collect reliable property market data to improve valuation practice.

This article investigates the causes and scale of land-related public service inefficiencies in Ghana. Public choice theorists contend that the primary cause of inefficiency of public service agencies is their tendency to grow excessively. The finding of the study did not support the excessive growth proposition as far as the land-related public service agencies in Ghana are concerned. On the contrary, the evidence suggests that the agencies in question are shrinking in size, with some experiencing deficit budgetary growth rate of approximately −28.71% (Land Title Registry). Large proportions of inefficiencies were rather discovered in nontraditional (hidden) sources, such as insufficient budgets, misallocations of limited funds, and imbalances in the structure of the respective workforces of these agencies. These have led to heightened intensity of rent-seeking activities, inertia, lack of customer care, abuse of procedures, general dearth of professionalism, and considerable delays in the delivery of services.

The Environment Agency estimates that one in six homes in England (approximately 5.2million properties) are at risk from flooding and 185,000 commercial properties are located in flood-prone areas. Further, an estimated 10,000 new homes are built on flood plains yearly. The UK has witnessed a significant increase in flood events over the past 10 years. During this period, there has been growing research attention into measures to mitigate the effects of flooding, including the benefits of deploying Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDs) in new developments or as a retrofit. This study presents the development of a cost-benefit analysis model for the retrofit of SuDs focusing on the potential for improved flood risk mitigation in the context of commercial properties. A synthesis of flood risk management and SuDs literature is used to inform the development of a conceptual cost-benefit analysis model for the retrofit of SuDs and focusing on the potential for improved flood risk mitigation in the context of commercial properties. Sustainable urban drainage systems have been applied successfully in different parts of the world, however, the uptake of SuDs, in particular, the retrofit of SuDs, has been restricted by a number of issues including a lack of experience and trust in their performance and a lack of understanding in their true benefits. In particular, there is the limited experience of retrofitting SuDs and there are no well-established procedures for evaluating the feasibility, value or cost-effectiveness of doing this. This offers the potential to support the UK government's flood risk management policy by helping to increase the resilience of properties, whilst offering other benefits to communities such as improvements in air quality and biodiversity and also presenting a clearer understanding of the monetary and non-monetary implication to owners of commercial properties for a more informed and acceptable uptake of SuDs retrofit. The proposed model will allow a more comprehensive understanding of the costs and associated benefits associated with SuDs retrofit, highlighting the flood risk mitigation benefits that might accrue over a period of time for commercial property.

Flooding has become an imminent and disruptive threat in many cities around the world. In developing/emerging economies, cities are often more vulnerable to the impacts of flooding. For example, in Accra, Ghana, recently over 150 people perished in a flash flood. The high casualty rate was a consequence of the lack of a well-developed integrated flood risk management plan and exacerbated by weak institutions, slums, urban sprawl and informal land / property management. To this effect, high risk countries like Ghana are in need of urgent development of systematic mitigation measures to engender community resilience (CS). Using the combined qualitative technique of Phenomenological Studies (PS) and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), the flood risk perception, coping and management strategies of two vulnerable communities in the second largest city of Ghana, Kumasi are examined and evaluated for evidence of a sense of community resilience through social responsibility. The findings suggest that the two urban communities are aware they are at high risk to flooding and live in a constant state of anxiety during the wet seasons. However, there is no evidence of any systematic coping and management strategies and the communities feel there is nothing they can do without government support. It is suggested that government should use the leverage of local government practices to help engender a stronger sense of community empowerment and involvement towards building resilient communities that can respond to flooding through perceptions, social responsibility and appropriate public relation models.

Subcontracting is noted for its adverse health and safety (H&S) influence in construction. Using interviews with five of the top 20 UK contractors and one medium-sized contractor, this study explored how main contractors manage the H&S influence of subcontracting with a focus on their in-house measures. Some in-house measures found are: restricting the layers of subcontractors on projects; working with a regular chain of subcontractors; implementing a H&S reward scheme for subcontractors; and insisting on non-working subcontractor foremen who have direct responsibility for the safety of workers in their trade. These measures appear to be influenced by clients, industry peer groups, and the moral justification for occupational H&S, and they offer inter-organisational learning opportunities for contractors in devising measures to mitigate the H&S influence of subcontracting. These findings should also allay concerns that removing some of the legislative hurdles in connection with on-going red tape debate will result in poorer H&S.

"The multi-disciplinary perspective provided here offers a strategic view on built environment issues and improve understanding of how built environment activities potentially induce global warming and climate change. It also highlights solutions to these challenges. Solutions to Climate change Challenges in the Built Environment helps develop an appreciation of the diverse themes of the climate change debate across the built environment continuum. A wide perspective is provided through contributions from physical, environmental, social, economic and political scientists. This strategic view on built environment issues will be useful to researchers as well as policy experts and construction practitioners wanting a holistic view. This book clarifies complex issues around climate change and follows five main themes: climate change experiences; urban landscape development; urban management issues; measurement of impact; and the future. Chapters are written by eminent specialists from both academic and professional backgrounds. The main context for chapters is the developed world but the discussion is widened to incorporate regional issues. The book will be valuable to researchers and students in all the built environment disciplines, as well as to practitioners involved with the design, construction and maintenance of buildings, and government organisations developing and implementing climate change policy"--